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MPu WEBSTER'S EEMARKS 



NEW HAMPSLHIHE FESTIVAL, 

BOStS^ NOV. 7th, 1849. 



[Copyright Secured.^ 



Correction — page 3, last line, for dex'ra read dexiram. 



SPEECHES 



HON. DANIEL WEBSTER, 

OF MASSACHUSETTS, 



DELIVERED AT THE 



Jestbal of tl)e 00n0 of Him §amp0()ire, 



IN BOSTON, NOV. 7th, 1849. 



PHONOGRAPHIC REPORT BY DR. JAMES W. STONE, 

PKESIDENX OF THE BOSTON PHONOGKAPHIC KEPOKTING ASSOCIATION. 



BOSTON: 

JAMES FRENCH, 78 Washington Stkeet, 
1849. 






OLD DICKIK80N OFFICE, C. C. P. MOODY, PRINTEB, 
NO. 52 WASHINGTON STKEET, BOSTON. 



MR. WEBSTER'S REMARKS 

AT THE 

NEW HAMPSHIRE FESTIVAL, 

BOSTON, NOV. 7th, 1849. 



Residents of Boston and its vicinity, native born of New Hamp- 
shire ! we meet here to-claj in honor of our native State, to com- 
memorate and record our grateful aflfection for her ; to acknowledge 
the obligation that we all feel under for her care and nurture in our 
early days. Coming into this, another State, we have not brought 
with us all our affections, or all our attachments. 

We have invited to meet us many distinguished citizens of New 
Hampshire. They have answered our invitation, and have come in 
numbers. It may be considered properly the duty of the place I 
occupy to bid them, one and all, welcome. [Applause.] Welcome, 
ye of New Hampshire origin, from every part and quarter of our 
native State ! If you come from the pleasant valleys of the Con- 
necticut and Merrimac, welcome ! Are you from the sea-shore and 
the lakes of Strafford ? welcome ! Come ye from the Monadnock 
and the sides of the Crystal Hills ? welcome ! ivelcome ! avelcome ! 
[Cheers.] 

It was not in my power, Gentlemen, to meet you in the Hall of 
the State House before dinner. But I meet you here, and in the 
name of us who have prepared this celebration, I greet our guests, 
and in my own name, I greet all. I think they say the Chinese 
have a heathenish custom, when they meet, for one to shake his own 
hands to his friends. That is not our custom. Let us be more 
classical ; Cur dextrce jimgere dextra non datur. 



" Let us follow the English and the Saxon custom, and shake 
hands with our friends. I give my hands to the friends next me. 
Let us embrace, more ma jorum, and have a good hearty shaking 
of hands. [Great cheering, while Mr. Webster shakes hands with 
those near, and his example is followed by the company.] 

Gentlemen, all the world admits that identity of local origin is a 
tie of connection and sympathy, especially if it be strengthened by 
early association, by the meeting with one another in the school- 
house, and in the early society of life. In the morning of life, the 
heart opens all its sympathies to those around it, and receives im- 
pressions which are deep and lasting. We have migrated from 
one State to another. Our migration has not, indeed, been far. 
Nor have Ave come among strangers ; nor have we had a new 
tongue to learn, new principles to imbibe, new affairs of life to 
pursue ; but, nevertheless, we have changed our allegiance ; we 
have changed our citizenship ; we have changed our social re- 
lations. New Hampshire men once in all these respects, we have 
ceased to be New Hampshire men now in every thing, but grateful 
remembrance and affections for the past. 

To-day we meet to resume, for the time, the feelings which belong 
to us, as citizens of New Hampshire ; to put on the New Hamp- 
shire character, and see how well it may fit us here, in the metrop- 
olis of the State, to which we have come. Gentlemen, our lot is 
propitious ; singularly, remarkably, propitious. We are the native 
sons of one State, we are the adopted children of another, and we 
are proud of both. [Warm applause.] We desire not to forget 
whence we came, and Heaven forbid that Ave should forget Avhere 
we are. We have met, I say, to commemorate our native State. 
We value it according to its merits, which we beheve high and hon- 
orable. We value it for Avhat Nature has conferred upon it, and 
for Avhat its hardy sons have done for themselves. We believe, 
and Ave know, that its scenery is beautiful ; that its skies are all 
healthful ; that its mountains and lakes are surpassingly grand and 
sublime. 

If there be any thing on this continent, the work of Nature, in 
hills, and lakes, and seas, and Avoods, and forests, strongly attract- 
in ^^ the admiration of all those Avho love natural scenery, it is to 
be found in our mountain State of New Hampshire. 



It happened to me latterly to visit the northern parts of the 
State. It Avas i\.uturan. The trees of the forests, by the discolor- 
ation of the leaves, had presented one of the most beautiful specta- 
cles that the human eye can rest upon. But the low and deep 
murmur of those forests ; the fogs, and mists, rising and spreading 
and clasping the breasts of the mountains, whose heads were still 
high and bright in the skies, all these mdicated that a wintry storm 
was on the wing; that the spirit of the mountains was stirred, and 
that ere long the voice of tempests would speak. But even this was 
exciting ; exciting to those of us who had been witnesses before of 
such stern forebodings, and exciting in itself as an exhibition of the 
grandeur of natural scenery. For my part, I felt the truth of that 
sentiment, applied elsewhere and on another occasion, that 

" The loud torrent and the whirlwind's roar, 
But hound me to my native mountains more." 

[Applause.] 
Ours is not one of the richest of the States. It does not compare 
with Massachusetts in its facilities of mercantile or commercial oc- 
cupation and enterprise. Its soil is sterile and stubborn, but the 
resolution to subdue it is stubborn also. Unrelenting rocks have 
yielded, and do yield, to unrelenting labor ; and there are produc- 
tiveness, and health, and plenty, and comfort, over all her hills and 
among all her valleys. Manly strength, the nerved arm of free- 
men, each one tilling his own land, and standing on his own soil, 
enjoying what he earns, and ready to defend it ; these have made 
all comfortable and happy. 

Nor need we be ashamed of her literary, her religious, or her 
social institutions. I have seen, and others of my age have seen, 
the church and the school-house rise in the very centre of the forest, 
and stand and be visited in the midst of winter snows. And where 
these things lie at the foundation and commencement of society, 
where the worship of God, the observance of morals, and the cul- 
ture of the human mind, are springs of action with those who 
take hold of the original forest, to subdue it by strong arms and 
strong muscles, depend upon it, no such people ever fail. [Sen- 
sation.] 



G 



Everywhere, everyivhere, on lier hills and rivers, arc the school- 
houses. The school-house ; avIio shall speak of that all over Now 
En<iland as it ought to be spoken of? "Who shall speak, as they 
ought to be spoken of, of the wisdom, and foresight, and benevo- 
lence, and sagacity of our forefathers, m establishing, as a great 
public police for the benefit of the whole, as a business in which 
all are interested, the great system of public instruction ? The 
world had previously seen nothing like it. But the world, in some 
parts, has since copied from it. But where, when you talk of fos- 
tering Governments, of guardian Governments, of Governments 
which render to subjects that protection which the allegiance of 
subjects demands ; where is it, I ask, that, as here with us, it has 
come to be a great and fundamental proposition, existing before 
constitutions, that it is the duty, the bounden duty, of Governments 
composed by the representation of all, to lay the foundation of the 
happiness and respectability of society, in universal education ? If 
you can tell me such a country out of New England, I would be 
glad to hear of it. I know of none. I have read of none. [Ap- 
plause.] 

Gentlemen, the inhabitants of our New Hampshire mountains 
were, it must be confessed, from the first, rather inclined to the in- 
dulgence of a military spirit. I believe that that is common to 
mountainous regions in most parts of the world. Scotland and 
Switzerland show the example of hardy, strong men in mountainous 
regions, attached to war and to the chase ; and it is not unfortunate 
in our New Hampshire history, that this sentiment, to a considera- 
ble degree, prevailed. For the position of the country, and the 
state of the people called for its exercise. We know that New 
Hampshire was settled in all its frontier towns, under circumstances 
of the most dangerous and diflScult nature and character. It was 
a border State. It bordered on the Indians and on the French ; 
names and nations always coupled together in the language of our 
fathers as common enemies to them. This exposed the frontier 
men, of New Hampshire especially, to perpetual war ; to perpetual 
danger at least of war, and its frequent occurrence. People for- 
get ; they forget hoAV recent it is, that the interior, the border 
country of New Hampshire, was settled and reclaimed, and made 
safe from Indian depredation. All the world reads that New 



England is the oldest part of the United States, or one of the old- 
est. It has been looked upon as the longest settled. But, in regard 
to the frontiers of our native State, the settlement has been recent. 
Even up to the time of the birth of some of us now living, there 
was some degree of danger from Indian depredations and Indian 
wars; liability to Indian assaults, murders, and burnings. 

Whole generations, at least one entire generation, tilled the land 
and raised their bread with their arms in their hands, or in the 
fields with them at their labor. We do not now appreciate the difl&- 
culty of those frontier settlements ; because subsequent prosperity 
and security have obliterated the recollection. 

The pioneers of more fortunate countries in our day, what are 
their dangers compared with those of our fathers ? They go to a 
mild climate. They go to a fertile land ; and they have behind 
them a powerful Government, capable of defending them against 
the foe, of protecting their interests, and of redressing the wrongs 
they may suffer. It was not so with our fathers in New Hamp- 
shire. There, on the border were the Indians, and behind the 
Indians were the hostile French. It was in this situation of border 
danger and border warfare, and border strife and border suffering, 
that our ancestors laid the foundation of the State from which we 
come. 

In the language of Fisher Ames, "It is not in Indian Wars that 
heroes are celebrated ; but it is there they are formed. No enemy 
on earth is more formidable, in the skill of his ambushes, in the 
suddenness of his attack, or in the ferocity of his revenge." Not 
only was this foe to be encountered, but also a civiUzed State at 
enmity with us behind the Indians, supplying them with means, 
and always ready to purchase the victims that they could bring for 
sale to Canada ; this was the condition of things in which the fron- 
tiers were settled. Let it be added, that half the year was winter, 
and that on the surface of the snow, encrusted by frosts, bands of 
savages, coming from a distance of two hundred miles, suddenly 
appeared and set fire, at midnight, to the houses and villages of the 
settlers. 

It was in this discipline, it was in these Indian Wars, it was 
especially in the war of 1756, against the French, in which ahnost 
every man in New Hampshire, capable of bearing arms, bore arms; 



it was here that the miUtary spirit of the country, the bravery, the 
galhmtry of these mountain inhabitants were all called forth. They 
were a people given to the chase and to the hunt in time of peace ; 
fitted for endurance and danger, and when war came, they were 
ready to meet it. It was in the midst of these vicissitudes that 
they were formed to hardihood and enterprise, and trained to mili- 
tary skill and fearlessness. 

As one example out of many, I might refer to Gen. John Stark, 
well known for his military achievements in all the wars of his 
time. A hunter in peace, a soldier in war ; and as a soldier, always 
among the foremost and the bravest. [Applause.] And since he 
is brought to my remembrance, let me indulge in the recollection of 
him for a moment. 

Gen. Stark was my neighbor ; the neighbor and friend of my 
father. One in a highly important, the other in a less distinguished 
situation ; they had seen military service together, and had met the 
enemy in the same field. It was in the decline of Stark's life, com- 
paratively speaking, when the Revolutionary War broke out. He en- 
tered into it, however, with all the manliness and all the fervor of his 
youthful character. Yet, in his advanced age, like other old men, 
he turned back fondly to earlier scenes ; and when he spoke of the 
"war," he always meant the old French and Indian war. His re- 
membrances were of Canada ; of the exploits at Crown Point, and 
Ticonderoga, and Lake George. He seemed to think of the Revo- 
lution as only a family quarrel, in which, nevertheless, he took 
a warm and decided part; but he preferred to talk of the "war" 
in which he was taken by the Indians, as he was more than once, I 
think, and carried to Canada. The last time I saw him, he Avas 
seated around a social fire with his neighbors. As I entered, he 
greeted me, as he always did, with affection ; and I believe he 
complimented me on my complexion, which he said was like my 
father's ; and his was such, he said, that he never knew whether he 
was covered with powder or not. [Laughter.] The conversation 
turned, like other conversations among country neighbors, upon 
this man's condition and that man's condition ; the property of one, 
and the property of another, and how much each was worth. At 
last, rousing himself from an apparent slumber, he said, " Well, I 
never knew but once what I was worth. In the war, the Indians 



9 

took me, and carried me to Canada, and sold me to the French for 
forty pounds ; and, as they say a thing is worth Avhat it will fetch, 
I suppose I was worth forty pounds." [Laughter.] 

These are the scenes, ye native born ; this is the history, ye sons 
of New Hampshire, of the times and the events, which brought 
forth the gallant spirits of our native State into the midst of a still 
more important and more serious conflict, which began here in 
177(3. New Hampshire was then full of soldiers ; indeed, I may 
say that the whole of New England was full of soldiers, Avhen 
the Revolutionary War broke out. New Hampshire, especially, 
had hardly any body in it that had not used the custom of bearing 
arms in the previous war. As proof of the soldier-like character 
of our New England yeomanry, I may mention a fact which should 
not be forgotten ; that, of all the soldiers, regular and militia, 
which served in the war of Independence, Massachusetts and New 
Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island, these four little States, 
which, as you look upon a map of the United States, you can cover 
with your hand, these States furnished more than one half of all 
the men that achieved our Independence. [Cheers.] 

It appears from official and statistical record, that, during the 
war, in the regular service and in the militia service, three hun- 
dred and seventeen, or three hundred and twenty thousand men 
were employed in our armies. I say that, of these, New England 
alone furnished more than half. 

I may refer to a period further back. I may revert to the time 
that Louisburg was taken from the French, in 1745. How many 
men do you think the States of New England maintained ? 
I believe. Gentlemen, they maintained, for one or two years at 
least, upon the pay of the Colonies, more men against the French, 
than were enlisted, at any one time, in our late war with England. 
And that induced old Lord Chatham to say in his place in the 
House of Lords, " I remember, my Lords, when New England 
raised four regiments on her own bottom, and took Louisburg from 
the veteran troops of France." 

Then came the war of the Revolution ; it broke out here in the 

State of Massachusetts. Where was New Hampshire then ? Was 

she alienated from the cause, or from her sister State ? No. 

Neither then, nor at any time in the succeeding contest, was her soil 

9 



10 



subject to tlie tread of" a hostile toot. Whether thev thonglit it liot 
Avorth entering, or whether they did not choose to encounter the dwell- 
ers in her mountains, I do not care to decide. The truth is, no enemy 
trod on the soil of New Hampshire. But when the strife began, 
when the beacon fires Avere lighted here, when the march from 
Boston to Lexington, and Concord, had spread the flames of Liberty, 
who answered to the call ? Did New Hampshire need to be sum- 
moned to Bunker Hill ? She came at the first blaze of the beacon 
fires. None were earlier, none more ready, none more valiant. 

I think it is Madame de Stael who says, that " from the mountains 
of the North there comes nothing but fire and the sword." And 
on this occasion, there did indeed come from our native mountains 
both fire and the sword ; not the fire of devastation and desolation, 
not the sword of ruthless plunder and massacre ; but the fire of 
Liberty and the sword of Patriotism. [Overpowering applause.] 
And how ardently the one burned, and how vigorously the other 
was plied till the return of peace enabled the country to sheath it, 
and be at rest, let the Avhole history of that country tell. [Cheers 
redoubled.] 

Gentlemen, from Bunker Hill to Yorktown, there was not a battle 
in which New Hampshire blood was not shed. I may go further 
yet ; and I may say that there is, probably, of the many hundreds 
now in this very Hall, a representative of some New Hampshire 
officer or soldier who fell in every field, and left his bones where he 
fought his battle. The blood, tlce blood of New Hampshire men, 
falling everywhere, and in every year of the war, in defence of the 
liberty of the country, is here to-night. I hope it is worthy of its 
descent, and that it will transmit itself undefiled to ages, and ages 
yet to come. [Applause.] 

Those who returned to Now Hampshire from that seven years' 
contest, have their graves on her mountain sides, and along the 
valleys of their native land ; and those graves are ever objects of 
public regard, and private affection : 

" How sleep the brave, wlio sink to rest, 
By all their Country's wishes blest ! " 



■■ And Freedom shall awliile repair, 
And dwell, a weepiii;^- iieniiir, there,"' 



11 



They are ever pointed out to the passing traveller as the last rest- 
ing place of the patriotic and the brave ; and they continue to be 
watered with the tears of a grateful posterity. But, alas ! all did 
not return. McCleary, the earliest, or one of the earliest of the 
New Hampshire victims of the Revolutionary struggle, fell in 
Charlestown. His blood is mixed with the earth, upon which yon- 
der monument stands, raising its head to the skies, and challenging, 
from the world, respect and admiration for the spot where a mili- 
tary achievement was performed, which, in its results, in the long 
career of its consequences, in the great course of events which 
followed it, and their effects upon human happiness, or human liberty, 
has no parallel in the history of mankind. 

Adams and Coleman fell at Saratoga, and the soil of New York 
contains their ashes. Col. Scammel, a scholar, a gentleman of 
high attainment and accomplishment, a soldier of undaunted valor, 
went through the whole career of the war, and lost his life at its 
close, when making a reconnoissance, as Adjutant General, before 
the redoubts at Yorktown. There he fell. He lies buried in the 
grave-yard at Williamsburg. An affectionate friend and comrade. 
Gen. Henry Dearborn, took pains to search out the spot where his 
remains were buried. He could find no more, than that they lay 
somewhere in that consecrated burial-ground. A braver, or a bet- 
ter man, did not belong to the army. I never read his history 
without being much affected. He left no descendants. He was 
never married. His career was short and brilliant, like that of the 
star that shoots across the horizon, and goes out to be seen no 
more. His friends came home from the army, full of attachment 
and love for his name and fame. Gen. John Brooks, formerly Gov- 
ernor of this State, beloved by every body and distinguished for 
every virtue, named a son for him, Alexander Scammel Brooks. 
This son was brought up to the army like his predecessor and name- 
sake, and lost his life in the Florida war. Gen. Dearborn, another 
friend, also named a son for him, Gen. Henry Alexander Scammel 
Dearborn, Avhom we have the pleasure of seeing here to-night. 
Col. AVadsworth also gave his name to a son who entered the Navy, 
and is now Commodore Alexander Scammel Wadsworth. 

The three namesakes, all about the same age, and early acquain- 
tances and friends, lived, until death, in the time of the Florida War, 



12 



broke up the trio and reduced the number to Gen. Dearborn and 
Commodore Wadsworth. I Avish, as a spontaneous tribute of the pres- 
ent generation, somcAvhere -within the sacred grounds of the church- 
yard at ^yilhanlsburg, at the expense of us, Sons of New Hamp- 
shire, a monument should be raised to the memory of that distin- 
guished soklier. 

Gentlemen, I have no right to occupy much of your time. My 
voice is a little too familiar to you all. There are others to Avhom 
you will listen with more gratification. I will only refer, in a very few 
words, to the civil history of this, our native State, in the past and 
important era of our history ; and in doing that, I will mention only 
the great men Avho signed the Declaration of Independence, and 
those who put their names to the Constitution of the United States. 
The Declaration of Independence, on the part of New Hampshire, 
was signed, in the first place, by Josiah Bartlett. He was an unos- 
tentatious man, but able, sensible, and patriotic. He left numerous 
descendants, and there are here those who belong to his family 
and kindred. 

Gen. William Whipple was another who signed the Declaration. 
He left no descendants ; nothing but his character, his name, and 
his fame. 

Dr. Matthew Thornton was a third. And his descendants are 
in New Hampshire, in Boston, and elsewhere in the country ; some 
of them now in this Hall. Dr. Thornton was one of the most ar- 
dent sons of liberty, but was, as it happened, not at Philadelphia 
on the 4th of July, 1776, when the vote Avas passed. He hurried 
immediately to Philadelphia. You know that the ofiicial resolutions 
of Independence were only to be signed by the President. But 
Declaration, for individual signatures, was drawn up. The firs 
of the members who signed, after the President, was Josiah Bart- 
lett, of New Hampshire ; the next, was William Whipple, of Ne\« 
Hampshire. Matthew Thornton did not sign immediately, because? 
he was not there. Others went on to sign ; and the Massachusetts 
members, you remember, signed next to the two members from Ne\w 
Hampshire. Thornton hastened back to his post to sign Avith the 
rest, and the nearest place to his colleagues he could find, was at 
the bottom of the right-hand column ; and there it stands, " Matthew 
Thornton." [Applause.] 



\ 



Well, Gentlemen, we now come to the Constitution of the United 
States. John Langdon and Nicholas Gilman represented New 
Hampshire in the Convention of 1789. Mr. Langdon has left de- 
scendants behind him, honorable and worthy. An excellent woman, 
a daughter, still lives, esteemed and regarded by all who know 
her. 

Nicholas Gilman, of a family always an honor to his native State, 
and some of whom I dare say are here to-night, left no children. 

At this period of time, without disturbing individual opinion or 
party feelings, I may speak of some of the early members of Con- 
gress. When the Constitution first went into operation, the members 
from New Hampshire assisted in forming the original organic laAvs, 
were confided in by the first President of the United States, and 
did all that they could do to put the machine in operation. At the 
head of this list was Samuel Livermore, the father of several gen- 
tlemen of respectability in public life, in the State, and in the Na- 
tional Councils. Jeremiah Smith and William Gordon, also, both 
men of talent and industry, and warm friends of the first President, 
held seats in Congress with high reputation. 

This, Gentlemen, was the history, the early history of our State, 
as one of the Union, so far as we may summarily comment upon it 
here to-night. 

In regard to the military character of the Revolutionary heroes, 
and the early statesmen, and in regard to everything which was 
;done, or ought to have been done, or was expected to be done, to 
bring New Hampshire honorably and respectably into the great 
ieircle of our Union, Gentlemen, I leave all this for abler tongues, 
fresher recollections, and more persuasive accents. I sit down 
myself, filled with profound veneration for the character of my 
fiative State, and acknowledging to her my own personal debt, 
for her culture and nurture, and determined, so far as in me lies, 
to transmit the sense of that obligation to those who shall come 
after me. 



HON. DANIEL WEBSTER^ S SECOND SPEECH. 



The regular toasts have now been gone through. I have occu- 
pied this hair as Clong as it seems to be convenient, and, with a few 
parting words, I propose to resign it to another. 

Gentlemen, departing from the character of particular States, 
leaving, for the present and at last, the agreeable thoughts that 
have entertained us, of our own homes and our own origin, it ap- 
pears to me, before we part, that it is not improper that we should 
call to our attention the marked character of the age in which we 
live, and the great part that, in the dispensations of divine Provi- 
dence, we are called upon to act in it. 

To act our part well, as American citizens, as members of 
this great Republic, we must understand that part, and the duties 
which it devolves upon us. We cannot expect to blunder into pro- 
priety, or into greatness of action. We must learn the character of 
the age in which we live, we must learn our own place as a great 
and leading nation in that age, we must learn to appreciate justly 
our own position and character, as belonging to a government of a 
particular form, and we must act, in every case, and upon all sub- 
jects, as becomes our relations. 

Now, Gentlemen, I venture to say, here and everywhere, in the 
face of the world, that there is not on earth any country, at the 
present moment, so interesting as the United States. I do not 
sa}^, no country so strong, so rich, so beautiful, so high or command- 
ing ; but I say no country so intereBting^ no country that sets sucli 
an example before the world of self-government, no country around 
which so many hopes and so many fears cluster, no country, in re- 
gard to which the world, with so much earnestness inquires, " what 
will she come to Y' 



16 



• I need not say that we are at the head of this continent. Who 
denies that ? Who doubts it ? Here are twenty milhons of people, 
free, commercial, and enterprising, beyond example. They are 
spread over an immense territory, and that territory has been 
lately increased, by a vast and an extraordinary addition. The 
country stretches from sea to sea, across the whole breadth of 
North America, and from the tropics to the great Lakes and Rivers 
of the North. 

Forty or fifty years ago, a Boston poet said to his countrymen, 

" No pent lip Utica contracts our powers, 
For the whole boundless continent is ours." 

This was poetic ; but the poetry has been advancing, and is still ad- 
vancing, more and more, to sober truth and reahty. 

But that is not all. Nor is it the most important point. We 
are brought by steam, and the improvements attendant upon its dis- 
covery, into the immediate neighborhood of the great powers of Eu- 
rope, living under different forms of government ; forms in which 
the aristocratic, or the despotic, or the monarchical prevails. And 
the United States, the second commercial country in the world, 
whose intercourse affects every other country, come into the circle, 
and are become the immediate neighbors of them all. And what 
is expected to be the consequence of this contiguity, this proximity, 
this bringing the Republican practice into the immediate presence of 
despotism, monarchy, and aristocracy ? This is the philosophical 
view, which attracts the attention of the observant part of mankind, 
most strongly, and strikes us with the greatest power. What is 
to be the result ? 

Gentlemen, between us and all the Governments of Europe, 
political power is yet separate. They have their systems, and we 
have ours ; but, then, their and our joint interests approach, and 
sometimes amalgamate. The commercial interests are mingling to- 
gether all over the civilized world. The information of mankind is 
becoming common to all nations, and the general tone of sentiment 
common, in learned circles, and among the masses of intelligent men. 
In matters of science, taste, commerce, in questions of right and 
justice, and matters of judicial administration, we think very much 
alike. But, in regard to the origin of Government, the form of 



17 

Government, and, in some cases, the end and objects of Govern- 
ment, we differ. And yet, it is certain that of all human institu- 
tions. Government is the chief, and bj far the most important ; and 
as the Press, at least to a very great extent, in modern times, is free, 
Government, its origin, its forms, its duties, its ends and objects, and 
its practical administration, are everywhere a constant subject of 
discussion. Now that steam has created such a daily intercourse, 
and brought countries so much nearer together, men of one nation 
seem to talk to those of another, on political subjects, as on other 
subjects, almost like inhabitants of the same city, or the same county. 
This is a condition of things, novel and interesting, and worthy of 
our reflection. In National relations, we sustain a rank, we hold a 
certain place, and we have high duties to perform. Of course it is 
our duty to abstain from all interference in the political affairs of other 
nations. But, then, there is one thing, which we are bound to do. 
We are bound to show to the whole world, in the midst of which we 
are placed, that a regular, steady, conservative Government, found- 
ed on broad, popular, representative systems, is a practicable thing. 
We are bound to show, that there may be such a Government, not 
merely for a small, but for a great country, in which life and prop- 
erty shall be secure, religion and the worship of the Deity ob- 
served, good morals cultivated, commerce and the arts encouraged, 
and the general prosperity, of all classes, maintained and ad- 
vanced. 

It strikes me, and I repeat the sentiment only to show the strength 
of my own conviction, that our great destiny on earth is, to exhibit 
the practicability of good, safe, secure, popular Governments ; 
to prove, and I hope we do prove, that there may be security for 
property, and for personal rights ; that there may be the mainten- 
ance of religion and morals, that there may be an extensive diffu- 
sion of knowledge, a carrying on of all branches of education to 
their highest pitch, by means of institutions founded on Republican 
principles. The prophesies and the poets are with us. Everybody 
knows Bishop Berkely's lines, written a hundred years ago: 

" There shall be seen another golden age, 
The rise of Empires and of Arts ; 
The good and. great inspiring epic rage, 
The wisest heads and noblest hearts." 

3 



18 



" Westward the course of lOnipire takes its way ; 
Tlic four first acts already past ; 
A fifth shall close the drama with the day, 
Time's nol)lest offspriuj^ is the last." 

And, at a more recent period, but, still, when there was nothing to be 
seen in this vast North American Continent but a few colonial settle- 
ments, another English poet suggests, to his country, that she shall 
see a great nation, her own offspring, springing up, Avith wealth, 
and power, and glory, in the New World ; 

" In other lands, another Britain sec ; 
And wliat thou art, America shall be." 

But, in regard to this country, there is no poetry like the poetry 
of events ; and all the prophesies lag behind their fulfilment. 

That is the doctrine, which you, and I, of America, are bound to 
teach. [Cheers.] Does anybody doubt that, on this broad, popular 
platform, there exists now, in these United States, a safe govern- 
ment ? Tell me where there is one safer. Or, tell me many on 
the face of the old world on which public faith is more confidently 
reposed. I say the government of the United States is one of the 
safest. I do not know how long it may be before it will become 
one of the oldest governments in the world. [Loud Applause.] 

We are in an age of progress. That progress is towards self- 
government by the enlightened portion of the community, every 
where. And a great question is, how this impulse can be carried 
on, Avithout running to excess ; how popular government can be 
established, without faUing into licentiousness. That is the great 
question, and we have seen how difficult it is, by those not taught 
in the school of experience, to establish such a sj^stem. 

It is a common sentiment uttered by those who would revolu- 
tionize Europe, that to be free, men have only to will it. That is 
a fallacy. There must be prudence and a balancing of departments, 
and there must be persons who will teach the science of free, popu- 
lar governments ; and there are but few, except in this country, 
who can teach that science. [" Hear, hear."] And we have 
arrived at this ability by an experience of two hundred years. 
And how has it come ? Why, we are an off-shoot of the British 
Constitution. In that Constitution there is a popular element, that 



19 



is, a representation of the people. This element is there mixed up 
with the monarchical and the aristocratic elements. But our an- 
cestors brought with them no aristocracy, and no monarchial rule, 
except a general submission and allegiance to the Crown of England. 
Their immediate government was altogether a popular representa- 
tion ; and the country has been thoroughly trained, and schooled, 
in the practice of such a government. 

To abide by the voice of the representatives fairly chosen, by 
the edicts of those who make the legislative enactments, has been, 
and is, our only system. And from the first settlement of the 
Colony, at Plymouth, through all our subsequent history, we have 
adhered to this principle. We threw off the power of the King, and 
we never had admitted the power of the Parliament. That was 
John Adams' doctrine. And that is the reason why the Parliament 
was not alluded to in the Declaration of Independence. The Colo- 
nics acknowledged the power of the Crown, but never having ac- 
knowledged the authority of the Parliament, they disdained to 
give any reason for throwing it off. 

When the Revolution severed us from the mother country, then 
we had nothing to do but to go on with our elections, supplying the 
Governors, not longer appointed by the Crown, by our own election, 
thus making the whole government popular, and to proceed as at 
first ; and that it was which enabled the Colonies of Connecticut and 
Rhode Island, down to a very late period, to continue their ancient 
Constitutions. 

If you look anywhere, beside at France, on the continent of Eu- 
rope, can you find any thing that bears the aspect of a Representa- 
tive Government ? There is nothing. 

It is very difficult to establish a free conservative Government 
for the equal advancement of all the interests of society. What 
has Germany done ; learned Germany, fuller of ancient lore than all 
the world beside ? What has Italy done, Avhat have they done 
who dwell on the spot where Cicero and Justinian lived ? They 
have not the power of self-government which a common town-meet- 
ing, with us, possesses. [Applause.] 

Yes, I say, that those persons Avho have gone from our toAvn-meet- 
ings, to dig gold in California, are more fit to make a Republican 
Government than any body of men in Germany or Italy, because 



20 

they have learned this one great lesson ; tliat there is no security 
without law, and that, under the circumstances in which they are 
placed, where there is no military authority to cut their throats, 
there is no sovereign will but the will of the majority ; that, therefore, 
if they remain, they must submit to that will. 

It is the prevalence of this general sentiment of obedience to 
law, that they must have representatives, and, that if they be fairly 
chosen, their edicts must stand for law; it is the general diffusion of 
this opinion that enables our people everywhere to govern them- 
selves. And, where they have our habits, you will find that they 
will establish government upon the foundation of a free, popular 
constitution, and nothing else. 

Now, I think, gentlemen, that while we prescribe no forms, while 
we dictate to nobody, our mission is to show that a constitutional, 
representative, conservative government, founded on the freest pos- 
sible principles, can do, can do, for the advancement of general 
morals and the general prosperity, as much as any other govern- 
ment can do. This is our business ; this our mission among the 
nations ; and it is a nobler destiny, even, than that which Virgil 
assigns to imperial Rome. 

"Excudent alii spirantia molliiis aera, 
Credo equidem ; vivos duccnt dc marmore vultus ; 
( )rabuiit causas melius ; cwlique meatus 
J)escril)ent radio, ct surgentia sidcra dicent, 
Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento ; 
Ilae tibi entnt artes, pacisque imponere morem, 
Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos." 

Gentlemen, two things are to be maintained and insisted on. One, 
that men in an enlightened age are capable of self-government ; 
that the enjoyment of equal rights is a practicable thing, and that 
freedom is not a dangerous thing for a body politic. And the 
other is, that freedom from restraint is not freedom ; that licen- 
tiousness, the discharge from moral duties, and that general scram- 
ble which leads the idle and the extravagant to hope for a time 
when they may put tlieir hands into their neighbors' pockets, call 
it what you jilease, is tja-anny. It is no matter whether the Em- 
peror of Turkey robs his subject of his property, or, whether, under 
the notion of equal rights, the property earned by one shall be 



21 

taken from him by a majority. I would not choose the latter. On 
the contrary, give me Turkey, for I Avould prefer one despot to ten 
thousand. Who Avould labor if there were not a security that 
what he earned would be his own, for his own enjoyment, for the 
education of his children, for the support of his age, and the gratifi- 
cation of all his reasonable desires ? 

Gentlemen, the events of the past year are many, and some of 
them most interesting. They seem to result from an indefinite 
purpose of those who wish to meliorate the condition of things in 
Europe. They had no distinct ideas. There may be incidental 
benefits arising from the scenes of turmoil and of blood ; but no 
general and settled change. These wars may somewhat assuage 
the imperial sway of despots. They may serve to convince those 
who hold despotic power, that they may shake their own thrones if 
they do not yield something to popular demands. In that sense 
some good may come of these events. 

Then, Gentlemen, there is another aspect. We have all had our 
sympathies much enlisted in the Hungarian efibrt for liberty. We 
have all wept at its failure. We thought we saw a more rational 
hope of establishing independence in Hungary than in any other 
part of Europe, where the question has been in agitation within the 
last twelve months. But despotic power from abroad intervened to 
suppress that hope. 

And, Gentlemen, what will come of it I do not know. For my 
part, at this moment, I feel more indignant at recent events con- 
nected with Hungary than at all those which passed in her struggle 
for liberty. [Tremendous cheering.] I see that the Emperor of 
Russia demands of Turkey that the noble Kossuth and his com- 
panions shall be given up, to be dealt with at his pleasure. 
[" Shame ! " " shame ! "] And I see that this demand is made 
in derision of the established law of nations. Gentlemen, there is 
something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. The 
lightning has its power, and the whirlwind has its power, and the 
earthquake has its power ; but there is something among men more 
capable of shaking despotic thrones than lightning, whirlwind, or 
earthquake, [overpowering outburst of applause] that is, the excited 
and aroused indignation of the whole civilized world. [Renewed 
cheers.] Gentlemen, the Emperor of Russia holds himself to l)e 



99 



bound by the law of nations, from the fact that he negotiates with 
civilized nations, and that he forms alliances and treaties. He pro- 
fesses, in fact, to live in a civilized age, and to govern an enhghtened 
nation. I say that if, mider these circumstances, he shall perpetrate 
so great a violation of national law, as to seize these Hungarians and 
to execute them, he will stand as a criminal and malefactor in the 
view of the public law of the world. [Loud huzzas continued for 
several minutes.] The whole world will be the tribunal to try him, 
and he must appear before it, and hold up his hand, and plead, and 
abide its judgment. [Reiterated cheers.] 

The Emperor of Russia is the supreme law-giver in his own 
c vantry, and, for aught I know, the executor of that law also. 
But, thanks be to God, he is not the supreme law-giver or executor 
of the national law, and every offence against that, is an oifence 
against the rights of the civilized world, ["hear, hear! !"] and 
if he breaks that law, in the case of Turkey, or any other case, the 
whole world has a right to call him out, and to demand his punish- 
ment. [" True ! true ! ! "] 

Our rights, as a nation, like those of other nations, are held under 
the sanction of national law ; a law which becomes more important 
from day to day ; a law which none who profess to agree to it, are 
at liberty to violate. Nor let him imagine, nor let any one imagine, 
that mere force can subdue the general sentiment of mankind. It 
is much more likely to extend that sentiment, and to destroy the 
power which he most desires to establish and secure. 

Gentlemen, the bones of poor John Wickliffe were dug out of his 
grave, seventy years after his death, and burnt for his heresy ; and 
his ashes Avere thrown upon a river in Warwickshire. Some 
prophet of that day said : 

" The Avon to tlic Severn runs, 
Tlie Severn to the sea, 
And Wickliff'e's dust shall spread abroad. 
Wide as the waters be." 

Gentlemen, if the blood of Kossuth is taken by an absolute, un- 
<'jualified, unjustifiable violation of national law, what will it appease, 
what will it pacify ? It will mingle with the earth, it will mix with 
the waters of the ocean, the whole civilized world will snuft' it in 



23 



the air, and it will return with awful retribution on the heads of 
those violators of national law and universal justice. [Great en- 
thusiasm.] I cannot say when, or in what form ; but depend upon 
it, that if such an act take place, then thrones, and principalities, and 
powers, must look out for the consequences. [Overpowering ap- 
plause.] 

x\nd now, Gentlemen, let us do our part ; let us understand the 
position in which we stand, as the great republic of the Avorld, at 
the most interesting era of the world. Let us consider the mission 
and the destiny which Providence seems to have designed for us, 
and let us so take care of our own conduct, that, with irreproachable 
hearts, and with hands void of offence, Ave may stand up whenever 
and wherever called upon, and with a voice not to be disregarded, 
say, this shall not be done, at least not without our protest. [Mr. 
Webster's speech was received with much more than the common 
exhibition of approbation, and, at its close, three times three cheers 
were called for and responded to heartily and unanimously. Mr. 
Webster then retired, the whole company standing while he left the 
Hall.] 



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